Thermoforming & Vacuum Formed Products worked example
Cooling Time at 12% cooling time safety allowance: a worked example in thermoforming & vacuum formed products
This scenario runs the cooling time calculation on the strong side: 12% cooling time safety allowance, with every other input held at its documented default. Use it when cooling time in thermoforming and vacuum formed products is changing rate or allowance and you want to see the impact.
The inputs for this scenario
- Total cooling energy to remove: 120 units (unchanged)
- Cooling removal rate: 12 units / hr (unchanged)
- Cooling time safety allowance: 12 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 10)
Working through the calculation
- Applying the documented formula (Base cooling time time = required work รท processing rate) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
- At this operating point the engine returns 11.2 hr for adjusted run time, the number this scenario is built around.
- At this operating point the engine returns 10 hr for base run time.
- At this operating point the engine returns 12 % for allowance applied.
- At this operating point the engine returns 12 pieces / min for process rate.
How this compares with the baseline
- Against the tool's baseline example, where cooling time safety allowance sits at 10% and the headline result is 11 hr, this scenario comes in 1.82% above the baseline at 11.2 hr.
- Use it when setting or trimming the cooling phase of a forming cycle, or estimating cool-down for a new resin or a thicker gauge sheet. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.
Results at a glance
- Adjusted run time: 11.2 hr (headline result)
- Base run time: 10 hr
- Allowance applied: 12 %
- Process rate: 12 pieces / min
Run it with your numbers
- Every input above is editable in the live Cooling Time calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.